Handheld electronic devices such as mobile communications devices are becoming smaller in size while being expected to provide increasingly more functions. Touchscreens on handheld electronic devices provide an intuitive user interface, however incorporating touchscreens into handheld electronic devices also poses challenges. One problem is the small amount of space available to display information for user selection on the touchscreen, particularly when using a finger to make the selections on the touchscreen. For example, sometimes virtual keys/buttons or menu options are situated in close proximity making it difficult to detect the desired input selection. Another problem is that touchscreens tend to be more sensitive to changes in environmental conditions such as temperature and humidity. For capacitive touchscreens, the touchscreen may be unable to detect an input if sufficient capacitance is not available, for example, because the user trying to input with her nails or wearing a glove.
Thus, there remains a need for improved input mechanisms for handheld electronic devices, and in particular an improved handheld electronic device having a touchscreen and an improved method of using a touchscreen of a handheld electronic device.
Like reference numerals are used in the drawings to denote like elements and features.